2012.06.08 June of 44 - Tropics and Meridians

Color: Black

Released: 1996, June 18

Label: Quarterstick Records

Is it possible to fall in love with a record before even hearing a note of the sounds contained within? This record almost makes it so. Being the visual person that I am and growing up curious of all the records in my father’s collection and often pouring over the details of the album art of those records, this record (err, well… the cd version of it, at the time) won me over. With it’s tattoo flash inspired artwork, and especially the inclusion of a sheet of custom stamps (housed carefully in a translucent envelope) it was evident that the band were doing more than just trying to sell you some shitty music - they were carefully crafting an experience.  As I mentioned before, I wasn’t necessarily paying full attention to the band’s music until a later release than this - but the point is that the packaging of this was so memorable that when I started to explore the band’s back catalog at that point, I immediately got excited and made the connection - “Oh yeah! The one with the stamps!” I found this vinyl copy used somewhere and breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered that the stamps were indeed inside (Hey! These things are important!) Musically, this picks up right after their debut but shows a solid progression and ups the game. I will often randomly find myself humming the opening guitar lines to “Arms Over Arteries” and it is impossible to not get your ass shaking and head nodding to “Lusitania.” The album ends perfectly in the catharsis that is “Sanctioned In A Birdcage.” Again, I was kicking myself for not paying closer attention earlier.